


Teacher Appreciation Day

by PyromaniacalKitten



Category: Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero
Genre: Enemies to Friends, Gen, IF ANYONE COMMENTS ANYTHING PENN/RIPPEN I WILL COME TO YOUR HOUSE AND PUNCH YOU, JUST, Other, PURELY PLATONIC, and barely so, at all, i need penn and rippen starting to become buddies just a little bit, not romantic - Freeform, platonic developments, youre allowed to ship it or whatever but this is NOT ROMANTIC
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-05
Updated: 2017-08-05
Packaged: 2018-12-11 09:36:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11711682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PyromaniacalKitten/pseuds/PyromaniacalKitten
Summary: It's Teacher Appreciation Day at Middleburg High, and Rippen has received not one gift, but two.





	Teacher Appreciation Day

Rippen hated being a teacher. He hated children, he hated teenagers, he hated their art. But he had to earn money somehow. Being a part-time villain didn't pay well. Or, at all, actually. And where else would he work? Fishstick on a Stick? Rippen was sure that would be a more miserable job than this one, and Phil didn't exactly seem like a great day-time coworker. At least at Middleburg Central High he could keep an eye on Penn Zero and his little team.

But it was days like this that made Rippen want to ignore the few benefits his current job had and quit. This was the worst day of the school year - Teacher Appreciation Day. What kind of delusional child appreciated their teachers? Rippen certainly hadn't when he was a boy. Did anyone actually care about this little ‘holiday’? Well, anyone except Larry. He loved it - hanging banners, tossing confetti over every employee of the school. He would personally deliver gifts to all the teachers, or so he said. Not that Rippen doubted that. What joy would it be to find some garish little token from his number two. He rubbed his temple. The school day hadn’t even officially started, and he was already tired of it all.

Luckily, the first half of the day dragged through like any other. He had made sure he wasn’t the type of teacher students would even _want_ to appreciate. The little rats scurried through his classes with their mouths shut and their eyes down. As it should be. When he became a full-time villain, the rest of the world would cower before him like this.

The bell rang, and he ran to the teacher’s lounge to enjoy the few minutes he would have alone before his coworkers invaded. The peace didn’t last long, as he expected. But the adults were much more tolerable than the children, and he wasn’t obligated to talk to any of them. He took the last bite of his lunch and retreated to the art room.

Rippen was just turning into the room when he saw him - his part time nemesis.

“Penn Zero,” He shouted, “What do you think you’re doing in my classroom?”

Penn shoved his hands behind his back suspiciously. “I was, uh, gonna ask you for a higher grade?”

Rippen crossed his arms. “All grades are final. Get out.”

“But-”

“OUT.”

Penn ran out of the room, hiding whatever it was he had taken. Ugh. Now Rippen had to go through all his things to see if anything was missing. Filthy little hero had probably stolen some of his future plans or something.

He rummaged through his desk drawers, checking his most important belongings. Everything was there.

Then he noticed it. The little box on the corner of the desk. Wrapped neatly in green paper, and even a little bow on top. Rippen rolled his eyes. Larry’s stupid gift. Wonderful. Well, as long as he had it, he might as well open it, right? He tore off the bow and dug into the wrapping. Lifting the flaps of the box, he raised an eyebrow. It was a mug. Huh. He would have guessed something more… frivolous. Rippen pulled the mug out of the box to look at it.

**WORLDS**

**BEST**

part-time

**VILLAIN**

 

Rippen groaned. How terrible.

And yet, he had to admit, he was glad for the little gift. It was a little boost of courage to know that at least one person recognized his effort. Not like he would ever tell Larry that, of course. He set the mug aside with a small smile.

The rest of the day managed to pass. Rippen tossed his smock over a chair, heading to his second job. A much more compelling career than teaching. He and Larry lost again, but it wasn’t that Penn’s team was better! The desert terrain of today’s world just didn’t seem to agree with Rippen’s tiny feet. Yes, that was it. Tomorrow he would surely defeat them.

Exhausted from the day and the battle, Rippen headed home. His little apartment would finally offer him respite from the hell of the workday. As he unlocked the door, he saw a little box. Another one? No address or message. He picked it up and headed inside. Tossing his keys to a table, he opened the box. A hand-knitted purple scarf. Must have been a wrong address. Isn’t there an old lady that lives next door? Rippen shrugged and tossed the box back in front of the apartment door.

The villain fell into bed. Tomorrow would be another day.

 

 

The morning came, as did the usual dread for the day ahead. Rippen ate a quick breakfast and grabbed what few things he would need for his two jobs that day. The box was still outside the door. He kicked it aside.

Making his way to the art room, he ran into Larry. Wonderful.

“Rippen! How’s your morning been, best friend?”

“Terrible, Larry, thank you for asking.”

“Mine was wonderful! I had three pancakes, with syrup all over them, except the syrup was on it for too long cuz I saw a bird and was watching her for a while! And then the pancakes got really soggy, and I tried to pick up a peice with my fork and it all crumbled! So I mushed up the entire plate and drank it with a milkshake straw!”

“Yes, yes, Larry, that’s fantastic. You can leave now.”

“Did you get my present?”

“Yes. Unfortunately.”

“You aren't wearing it! It would have looked so nice on you! Purple is your color, you know.”

Usually Rippen would have tuned Larry out at this point. But his last comment struck him. “Wait, purple? Wear? You mean - the scarf?”

Larry beamed. “I made it myself! Alpaca wool. One time I was at the zoo and an alpaca-”

“I, uh, I’ve got to go.”

“Bye! I’ll see you later!” Larry shouted as Rippen sprinted to the art room.

The scarf. The _scarf_. Larry had gotten him the scarf. But, then, who got him the mug? Rippen grabbed the handle and stared at the text, willing it to change into the answer. World’s Best Villain. World’s Best part-time Villain. Part-time had been written in with a red marker. Who else would have given him such a thing? And how? Someone who had been in his room, and knew his other job. Someone like-

The thought dawned on him. No, no. God, he hoped he was wrong. And yet he had to check, he had to make sure.

Rippen dug through his files until he found what he was looking for. An art history report from last semester. By Penn Zero. He looked between the mug and the paper, wishing to any power that would listen for there to be no correlation. But there it was. The curve of the p, the slope of the m, the dot of the i. Almost identical.

Penn Zero had given him the gift. Penn, his nemesis, his rival. Penn, who Rippen was sure hated him just as much as he hated Penn. Penn, the foil to all his plans, had given him a gift. For teacher appreciation day. A gift that Rippen had actually _enjoyed_ for a moment.

Rippen cocked his arm, ready to throw the mug across the room.

But he didn’t.

Frustrated, he set it back down on the desk.

Certainly, Rippen hated the boy. But not only hated. He could respect him. Honorable, persistent, dedicated. Annoying, yes. But a good hero, and a good person.

Rippen slid open a desk drawer, placing the mug inside. _Just this once_ , he thought. _We don’t have to be at ends_ all _the time, do we_?

The bell rang, and the first wave of students poured in from the hallway. Penn included. As he passed Rippen, he gave a little wave. “Happy Teacher Appreciation Day, Mr. Rippen,” He said.

**Author's Note:**

> Dont. Don't say that rippen and penn should be romantically involved. don't do it. i will fight you.


End file.
